Pakistan’s star javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem was on Tuesday ruled out of the Asian Games, under way in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, due to a chronic knee injury, the athlete confirmed to Dawn.com.

Nadeem, a trailblazer and beacon of hope for the future of athletics in the country, won silver at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest earlier this year.

However, in a big blow for his fans, the athlete dropped out of the Asian Games just a day before the tournament’s Men’s Javelin Throw final, scheduled for Wednesday.

According to a statement issued by Pakistan’s Chef de Mission at the Asian Games, Nadeem had complained of “persistent pain for several weeks” at the first training session in Hangzhou on Sept 27.

It said the concern had become particularly pressing in the aftermath of the World Athletics Championship.

“On Oct 2, he again complained of pain in the right knee and express a desire to undergo an evaluation to determine the impact on his ability to participate in the Javelin Throw event at the Asian Games,” the statement said.

Subsequently, the Pakistan contingent’s chief medical officer recommended a comprehensive check-up of Nadeem who then underwent a thorough examination, including a non-invasive test i.e. MRI at a local
hospital here in Hangzhou.

“After consulting the medical personnel, Nadeem has now decided not to participate in the Asian Games in order to prevent any untoward situation that may hinder his training program and participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” the statement concluded.

• Originally a plastic surgeon at LGH, Mumtaz conducted illegal operations in private residences
• Officials say surgeries have claimed lives of several patients including foreign nationals

LAHORE: Notorious illegal kidney transplant surgeon Fawad Mumtaz, who was re-arrested a couple of days ago by Lahore police after he escaped from custody, has become a ‘test case’ for the criminal justice system and the law enforcement agencies, especially for the Punjab police.

Mumtaz has been booked and arrested several times by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Pu­­­n­jab police, but each time, he has managed to obtain bail and con­­tinued his illegal transplant racket.

According to his criminal record, Mumtaz has been running the largest-ever illegal kidney transplant racket across the country, especially in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir since 2009.

An official said that Mumtaz was originally a plastic surgeon at the state-run Lahore General Hospital. He was serving as an assistant professor when he was first suspended from service for conducting illegal transplant procedures.

The rogue surgeon has reportedly become a billionaire, exploiting rich clients and charging exorbitant amounts from clients — especially those from Gulf countries — to perform illegal transplant operations.

According to FIA and police in­­vestigations, Mumtaz would char­­ge Rs10 million to Rs15 million from foreign clients/patients for each illegal kidney transplant and used to pay Rs100,000 to Rs150,000 to local donors, who his gang members would trap with the promise of employment or other lures.

The rogue surgeon would conduct the illegal transplant procedures in rented houses in private housing societies in cities across the province, it has emerged.

A few days ago, Lahore police picked him up from Taxila in connection with a case registered against him at Garden Town police station.

But shockingly, Mumtaz managed to flee from police custody, and the official explanation provided was that four of his armed accomplices attacked the police team and managed to free him.

The incident prompted careta­ker Punjab chief minister Mohsin Naqvi to hold a press conference.

He told journalists on Sunday that Mumtaz has been re-arrested by Lahore police and action has been proposed against police officers who had taken him into custody before he managed to escape.

Lahore DIG Investigation Imran Kishwar told Dawn the accused was on physical remand and police were interrogating him. He said the officials responsible for his escape had been suspended from service and a departmental inquiry has been launched to punish them accordingly.

An official told Dawn that Mumtaz had a notorious criminal record spanning over a decade.

Currently, several cases are lodged against him in Lahore, Multan, Okara, Bahawalpur, Fai­salabad, Taxila and Rawalpindi.

The last case against him was registered in Taxila, where a joint team of the Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority and local police arrested six suspects, including doctors and paramedics, during a raid in March.

Talking about illegal renal transplant procedures, the official said that Mumtaz had performed a kidney transplant on the daughter of famous comedian Umar Sharif in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in February 2020.

During the procedure, she developed serious complications and was brought to hospital in Lahore, where she breathed her last, the official said, adding that Mumtaz received Rs3.5 million from the family to perform the illegal transplant in AJK because there were no laws to prevent illegal human organ transplants in that territory.

FIA teams had also failed to arrest Mumtaz during an earlier raid on his residence in Lahore, and consequently, the rogue surgeon had managed to go into hiding. He was arrested by FIA in April 2017, when he had carried out illegal transplant procedures on Jordanian, Libyan and Omani nationals at EME Society in Lahore for Rs6m each.

Later, FIA revealed that a Jordanian national had died during the illegal procedure.

The deceased woman’s death certificate was faked by one of Mumtaz’s accomplices, Dr Altamash Kharal, and the body was kept in another private hospital in Defence before being sent back to Jordan. At the time, FIA had recommended action against Mumtaz and his accomplices.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2023

Mountaineers Naila Kiani and Sirbaz Khan became the first Pakistani duo to summit the 8,201-metre-tall Cho Oyu — the world’s sixth-highest peak in China’s Tibet — on Monday.

The mountain is located on the Nepal-Tibet border 20 kilometres west of Mount Everest in the Mahalangur range. Cho Oyu means “Turquoise Goddess” in Tibetan.

The duo reached the summit earlier today at 12:30pm (Nepal Time) as part of the expedition led by Imagine Nepal. Khan made the climb without using any supplementary oxygen.

They successfully reached the summit just five days after crossing the Tibet border from Nepal.

Kiani became the first Pakistani woman climber to summit 10 peaks above 8,000m and the only Pakistani to ascend seven peaks above 8,000m in six months.

Meanwhile, Khan became the only Pakistani to summit 13 peaks above 8,000m with today’s success and the only one to conquer 10 mountains above 8,000m without the use of supplementary oxygen.

Last month, the two had also successfully completed the ascent of the world’s eighth-highest peak, 8,163m-tall Mt Manaslu, in Nepal. Subsequently, the duo had arrived in China with the aim of conquering both Cho Oyu and Shishapangma.

Kiani has already scaled Broad Peak (8,047m), Annapurna (8,091m), K2 (8,611m), Lhotse (8,516m), Gashe­rbrum I (8,068m), Gashe­rbrum II (8,035m), Nanga Parbat (8,125m) and Mount Everest (8,849m).

Saad Munawar, Khan’s expedition manager, told Dawn.com that Khan was on a mission to complete the challenging goal of conquering all 14 peaks above 8,000m.

“Hailing from the Hunza district of Gilgit-Baltistan, Sirbaz continues to make his homeland proud with his extraordinary mountaineering achievements,” he said.

Munawar also commended Kiani’s determination, emphasising that her ascent of the peak occurred under “extraordinarily challenging conditions” marked by poor visibility and adverse weather.

“The marathon climb, spanning over 28 hours, stands as a testament to her exceptional strength and mountaineering prowess,” he said.

Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary Karrar Haidri felicitated Kiani and Khan for their triumphant ascent of Cho Oyu.

“We hold our collective hopes and prayers for their safe return from this extraordinary adventure. Their dedication to mountaineering is truly commendable, and their achievements serve as a wellspring of inspiration for all,” he remarked while talking to Dawn.com.

Separately, young Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif reached the base camp of Cho Oyu and will commence his endeavour to ascend the peak from Tuesday (tomorrow).

The summit will mark his 13th conquest of an 8,000m peak.

He also scaled Manaslu last month.